Apple should cross-license iTunes to Android

Now here’s an interesting idea. At Phones Review we often notice debates between readers in our comments sections extolling the virtues of either the Android or iOS platforms. Many people have fierce loyalties regarding this so how’s this for a thought, Apple iTunes on Android? We know this sounds extremely unlikely but perhaps Apple really should think about cross-licensing iTunes for Android users and apparently former Apple guru Steve Wozniak thinks so too.

Apple co-founder Wozniak took part in a Q&A session yesterday on Slashdot, a tech news site, and despite the fact that he is still so strongly associated with Apple he made it clear that he also uses Android devices so is neutral on the usual platform debate. He raised the question that if Apple could get iTunes to Windows then how about bringing it to the Android platform? Wozniak explained that he enjoys iTunes but wished he could also use it on his Android devices. When you consider the amount of Android devices and the popularity of iTunes it does seem rather bizarre that all of those users can’t access Apple’s phenomenally successful music app.

However, despite Wozniak’s desire for Apple to port iTunes to Android he also acknowledged the closed system that Apple has, with Apple maintaining the distance between iTunes and devices on other platforms. Sadly it also seems that it’s increasingly unlikely that Android users will ever get access to iTunes considering the ongoing patent wars between Apple and manufactures of phones using the Android platform.

Wozniak explained, “I wish that instead of all these lawsuits Apple was sitting down and cross-licensing with the other players,” according to Cnet. It’s not all one way either because as well as Android devices owners gaining access to different features there are also some very decent Android features that could come to the iPhone. Wozniak went on to discuss that if he were younger and developing an interest in technology he would be inclined to the open-source community and even spoke of an empathy for jailbreakers as they remind him of Steve Jobs and himself years ago.

Despite this though, Wozniak still stood up for Apple’s iOS ecosystem and didn’t rule himself out of returning to Apple at some point saying, “If there was something for sure where I’d be a great help to Apple, I’d be there in an instant, as Apple is #1 in my heart.” We can’t agree more with Wozniak regarding all of the ongoing patent litigation and would love to see it all scrapped with every party starting from scratch with a clean sheet, although this will never happen. At Phones Review we also think that allowing Android to use iTunes on its system would be a great idea and a progressive move but all the time Apple is so tight on sharing it seems unlikely this will ever happen.

We’d really like to hear readers’ thoughts on this though. If you are an Android device user would you enjoy having the option of using iTunes on your phone? Maybe you have an iOS device but can still acknowledge that there could be benefits from cross-licensing? Let us know with your comments.

Google’s Play Music turned out to be so much better than iTunes. Buy something once and have it available on every device you own. So simple and perfect…

mobilemann

itunes does the same thing, the music is pre-downloaded and waiting on your device.

welcome to 2011.

Niggaplz

Lol @twitter-17692404:disqus is too much of a android fanboy to notice what itunes has had for so long.

iDileepan

even your browser…

http://www.gadgetrophy.com/ Gadgetroid S

Agree with you on the point that app stores should be generic. I believe there is a hint illegal practices if a lawman takes look at it carefully. Most of these are webpages and programs which traditionally we would get them on a disk. This means developers are forced to write many different versions of applications every-time.

iTunes, Google Play and Microsoft Market should really be accessible by any device. Its mad that anyone would refuse money. Am quite sure most people would prefer a mix like maps get from Android market, get office from Microsoft and Music from iTunes and so on.

That way consumers are also able to choose any hardware and then go look for their own software. It would also solve some of the problem with patent wars – meaning companies like Samsung continue doing what they are good at – the hardware.

mobilemann

while it’s somewhat possible for android apps, as they are written in basically java,

it’s not technically feasible yet with current hardware to maintain performance and go completely cross platform with applications. Not to mention the insane API mess.

http://www.gadgetrophy.com/ Gadgetroid S

Then some API people need to start developing quick.

mobilemann

for both technical (and mostly technical) but also political reasons that will never happen, Apple wouldn’t allow it. It’s the much higher quality application base that only really sets apple apart right now. I know without 1, their hardware, and 2, their amazing 3rd party support, i wouldn’t be with them now.

In other words, i wouldn’t hold your breath

http://www.gadgetrophy.com/ Gadgetroid S

lol, Its true Apple would never allow it – I bet if they knew that an Android and a Mango would come after them when they launched the iPhone years back, things would have been different.

They had a whole market to themselves for sometime – if only they had played nice with other geeks.

aldredd

It’s bad enough having iTunes on your PC – why on earth would you want it on your phone?!

mobilemann

because there’s no common, polished way to sort music, sans using itunes with double twist.

if your not popping your SD in from a previous phone, your in for annoyance. I hit a button and it’s back the way i like it.

Coreky Lloyd

Apple only cares about its profits it all about Apple and no one else

mobilemann

i’ll bet you think google puts search on iphones to be nice?

hint: it’s because that’s how they earn money. Corporations are not nice.

Rex_D

I use Rhapsody. Don’t think I will ever make the mistake of purchasing music for ownership again. Learned that mistake with vinyl, 8 tracks, cassettes, CDs, and MP3s in the past. Thousands of songs and albums purchased through 3 decades and where is it all now? I’ll pay for a subscription service for as long as they let me. No more burning CDs, moving files between computer and SD card and phone, no more incompatible file formats, no more backing up my music onto a storage drive, and especially no more incorrectly named and tagged music files. No one REALLY owns anything anyway, why pretend?

mobilemann

while i did rebuy the limited vinyl that i bought, how on earth did you loose the music you have on CD and mp3? That’s just your carelessness.

Rex_D

I didn’t lose the CDs, just quit listening to them as the digital movement progressed. A little of it was ripped into MP3’s, but the majority just got given to Goodwill or sold. I am a minimalist and decorating my house with CD racks is not my style. I have 2 TB drives full of MP3s, but they are very poorly organized and a large quantity are unproperly named and tagged, making organization difficult. I never got into iTunes when it hit because I never understood what it was. At that time I was still buying CDs and couldn’t understand why people would purchase DRM music files. I didn’t even get the hang of playlists until about 2 years ago when I finally got an MP3 player for Rhapsody. The piece of crap eventually broke, so the time I spent moving files to it was wasted.

I get now that there is all this amazing Syncing software, but I don’t care to collect anything, be it music or movies or knick-knacks. Those 2 TB of music sit on drives in my office. I am unwilling to sort through the 10’s of thousands (if not hundreds of thousands) of songs just to carry some around on my phone. You know I bought Michael Jackson’s Thriller album on casssett, I would not ever listen to it now, even if I had it as an MP3 in my phone, so I can’t see going through the trouble. With the music service all I organize are playlists. I don’t have to store it anywhere. I can immediately search for a new song I want to hear without downloading it then having to sync it to my computer.

You know, just last year I bought a few songs from Amazon, via my phone. At the time, Amazon did not make the song ALSO available for download into my laptop. I had to email Amazon, then they sent made the song available to be downloaded into my computer, but only for 2 days then it was inactivated again. That kind of limitation scarred me for future digital music purchase.

mobilemann

you might want to actually download itunes, if only to organize your incredible sized library.

most music stores (amazon and apple included) don’t DRM their tracks anymore, so as long as you have backups, you can be sure that your digital music will always be there:D

http://twitter.com/Matthew_Boyle Matthew_Boyle

I would buy the app in an instant. Apple would get more purchases from me, I would get ease of use and I would keep my beloved Galaxy S3. Great idea Woz.